Is there any way to tell how much the Federal Reserve is buying? I don't think they will let long term rates fall much more than what they are now.

The last Martenson Report discussed a large buy at the last minute by an undisclosed party during the previous auction. Chris makes a good case that it was the Fed incognito. I tend to agree, but I don't know how to prove it. I can't wait for the next report from Chris, I'm sure he'll discuss in detail what is going on. Again, if you are not a subscriber, you should be!!! I would expect another report in the next 2 days, so sign up now and you will have all the details.

The US is giving the China something of value, who knows what it is, in order to be able to borrow more money from them. I think the FED buying on the sneak would be a slap in the face to all existing bondholders, so as much as that sounds like a possibility, I would tend to think Obama and Co. offered the creditors something that would appease. Who knows, Obama isn't a fan of the military, maybe he just gave up some secret technology. Maybe the US wont care so much about the Dalai Lama or go on so much about human rights abuses or democracy? But thats just cynical speculation. But something had to pop, and looks like it was that shiny soft yellow metal. So the Creditors chose to continue playing the game to avoid any loss of face on all parties, but someone is taking that funny money and converting it into you-know-what. My 2 cents.

Multiple factors including the Fed itself buying and the fact that for many of the major players it's "the only game in town".

This is no indicator on which to base one's personal decisions. We are not countries with central banks. We don't have to play their games, which will end badly for them.

Agreed, but some of us spectators like a little action on the side (prudently, of course). I certainly would like to see more chatter/opinions on where interest rates may go in the near term. The longer perspective seems obvious; but then again we're not central banks.